The People's Car in Wolfsburg Clothing

Want to know the secret to angering the Volkswagen PR guys? Ask them if the brand-new 2012 Beetle "isn't just a GTI in a Halloween costume." They'd sock you one if they could, but luckily, they can't. But they would do well to remember that a large part of Volkswagen history consists of dressing up an existing chassis in a new outfit. After all, what was the VW Type 3 if not a Type 1 with 200 extra CCs, a rubberized subframe, and some new metal? Then you've got the Type 14 Karmann Ghia and -- dare I say it -- the Porsche 356. Point is, there's no great shame in dressing up an existing chassis, especially when Wolfsburg does it. There would only be shame if the newly garbed car weren't any good.

Like, say, the last Beetle, the second-generation "New Beetle" that introduced the world to the unfortunate, oxymoronic marketing cutism called "retromodernism." That car also took the notion of cute to previously unexplored heights, with a polarizing, childish design that was instantly recognizable as a Bug, and looked the same coming and going. Remember, the New Beetle was one of the cars Brad Pitt and Ed Norton beat with baseball bats in "Fight Club." The last Beetle even got itself tagged with the unenviable label of "chick car," though it was worse than that. Long story short: Hot chicks drive Jettas; weird chicks drive Bugs. Despite all that, the New Bug sold well enough for Volkswagen, with just under 600,000 copies (both hard tops and convertibles) purchased in the U.S. and about 1.2 million worldwide during its 13-year production run. Not bad, but remember, that's around a twentieth of the original's staggering 21.5 million units.

Volkswagen remembers. And amazingly, it even admits to getting the last car somewhat "wrong," a huge admission for a German PR person. I nearly knocked over a glass of water mit gas during the recent launch of the new Beetle in Berlin when Christian Buhlmann from VW communications mused out loud about "correcting the mistakes of the last Beetle." He says the Bug needs to appeal to a wider audience, and to do so, Volkswagen has made the third-generation car more "sporty and masculine." But VW also brought in touches from the first Beetle, a car that's as iconic and beloved as the Jeep and Mustang. As design boss Walter de' Silva coined it, VW had to "Design a new original." No small task, that. I'd put it right below redesigning the wheel, but with a much smaller chance of success. But Volkswagen took a swing.

Compared to the last car, the 2012 Beetle is a 1960s Detroit product: longer, lower and wider. The third-gen car is a full 6 inches longer, 3.5 inches wider, and half an inch closer to the ground. The track and the wheelbase have also been increased. More noticeably, the hood and roof are flatter, and the windshield is more upright, a look that's evocative of the 1930s original (as well as the Tatra T97, where VW got the look from). Volkswagen only had Turbo models on hand for us to sample in Berlin. Mechanically, that car's a GTI. The 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 makes 200 horsepower and 207 pound-feet of torque. The front wheels are driven through either the familiar six-speed DSG (VW-speak for its dual-clutch transmission) or a six-speed manual, though the cars on hand were all DSG. There are half-a-dozen engine and transmission choices for the rest of the world, but the U.S. will get the Turbo, a 2.5-liter I-5, or a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel. Volkswagen's claiming that the DSG-equipped Turbo cars will get 22/30 mpg city/ highway. For a sporty car, that's great. Oddly, the 2.5-liter gets only 22/29, though of course it costs less.

Those who have been shrieking that Volkswagen lost its way because it cheapened the new Jetta's interior should buy the new Bug. While not the soft-touch paradise that defined the fifth- and sixth-gen Golfs and sixth-gen Jettas, the cabin is remarkably nice. The dashboard and instrument cluster are quite attractive, looking both purposeful and chic, and, Volkswagen claims, evocative of the original Bug. I'm not so sure about that last bit, as I don't remember any Type 1s with carbon-fiber-look materials. However, that's just the Turbo. Less potent Beetles will get bodycolor matched dash and door pieces. There's also a nifty little "kaferfach," or Beetle Bin, essentially a small second vertical glove box located in the same spot as in the original. Sadly, the iPod cable still resides in the less-accessible lower glove box. Even though the roof's been flattened, there's still a shocking amount of headroom, even with the sunroof.

I agree with many here, The 2012 Beetle gas engine only gets up to 31MPG hwy, USA EPA. Pretty crappy in my opinion for a small car. I know their diesel engines are great by why is VW so behind with gas engine efficiency? The Automatic transmissioned Cruze Eco can get 39MPG USA EPA and it's about the same size as the Beetle.

@kcfoxie - Wow. You've hit someone in the head with a tire iron just for calling your car gay? Not only must you have serious problems with homophobia, you've also admitted to committing a violent crime. Congratulations.

@bcwells09 - to expand, it's a Mk4. So it drove like any other mk4, including your beloved GTI with the same swaybar and Konis on it. That's the beauty of shared platform. There is nothing about this car that makes it different mechanically from any other MK4. Like a kilt it takes a man and a half to own a car like this, obviously you're more concerned about your appearance and opinion in others' heads to actually give the car a fair chance. That budvase is great -- have you seen the aftermarket GPS mounts that plug into that space? There is nothing I don't like about the Mk4 Beetle, except the number of bolts holding the fenders on! Cheapest car I have ever owned, 44 city/52 highway (manual, diesel) and the fuel pump is from the 70s so you can put anything you want in it for fuel. Forget the syn; It ran 15w40 semi in it for well over 100k miles and the piston sides (cam and head) are clean ... never know the car had 280k miles on it (my wrecked 98).

@ncwells09 - I've owned 4 New Beetles. My current is a 2003, its predecessor was taken away by crashing head first into a guard rail in the rain at 60mph and I walked away. It had 280,000 original miles. I'd love to see your Golf achieve that with a lifetime average of 46mpg. I'm over 6ft 3in tall, I've had a Mk5 jetta and sold it because I grew tired of banging my head getting in and out of it. I like space, the New Beetle has a lot of space (with the back seat taken out of it). This was a very functional car that took peanuts to operate if you have any mechanical inclinations about you -- and if you don't, you have no business looking at a German car period. I'm also male. I'd love for you to come at me with your snyde remarks, I've busted someone in the head with a tire iron for calling my car gay before. I love this car, and I hate the new one is flattened and lower to the ground - these should be a half inch taller for the US given our bad road systems and parking curbs.

Really @adamlink? The need wasn't a piece of shit? DID YOU EVER DRIVE ONE? Worst car I've ever driven and I'm over 50 .... My VW dealer used them as loaner cars when my GTI was in for it's scheduled service ...everything about the way that car drove was horrible.

the new bug is based on the new jetta and not the gti, all these references to the gti yet the new beetle/jetta have cheaper rear suspension among other things while the gti still has the multi link. c'mon motortrend

Maybe I should have skipped the comments regarding the 2.0T's output since I believe it is an excellent engine as is the 2.0 TDI. The Volkswagen engines I have issues with are the naturally aspirated ones, the weak 2.5 I5 and the ancient and now pathetic 2.0 SOHC turd in base Jettas. VW is falling behind by not offering a competitive Naturally Aspirated four cylinder with respectable output (say 135-150 horsepower for a NA 1.8, 150-165 horsepower from a NA 2.0 four to about 180-195 horsepower for a NA 2.3-2.4 liter four).

VRsicks is right regarding the engine & the fuel economy. VWs traditionally get far better than the sticker; independent testing proves it. And the 2.0T has been on Ward Automotive's Ten Best Engines list for 4 or 5 years.

Sharp car.. way better than the new Jetta crap.The 2.0T is an amazing engine, glad this will have it. Also it's underrated by VW...actual HP is around 220 with 230TQ.Can we start screaming for an AWD R model now :)

I am on the fence about the body styling and prefer the older model as a "bug" but man that interior is A W E S O M E!!!! VW has really come up in interior design. Hopefully they didn put that cheap peeling crap my MkIV Jetta had! VW may very well win me back as a customer.

If I were going to buy one to replace the original I had 40 years ago, I'd get this one. I'm not surprised, though, that Americans will have only 3 engine choices in the Beetle. Other companies are just as bad. Ford and Toyota often give the U.S. its least sporty or modern cars (Ford blocking the sporty Fiesta coupe from coming here and Toyota not giving the U.S. the modern, lithium-ion Prius V). If you can get over the fact that we get fewer choices than other countries, you could be happy with this Beetle. Do you think the Passats in Europe have rear drum brakes like the U.S. version. I don't either.

@turd_pessimistYou fail to realize that VW's 2.0T is an award-winning engine. "International Engine of the Year" award for 4 years running. And for those who think it's underpowered, think again. VW doesn't increase the power because it doesn't need to. They leave that to APR and GIAC, who (with a simple tune) increase horsepower to 250 and torque to 280, with stock exhaust and intake. This hampers fuel economy little, if at all, depending on driving habits.Plus, VW rates their cars lower than they are. A Passat with the same 2.0T engine can easily obtain 35 mpg on the highway, although it's rated at a mere 29.

How quickly they forget!This article could have been a lot better without the snarky, condescending putdowns of the last generation New Beetle, which was not the POS this author seems to think it was. While it seems to have become chic in some circles to look down on the New Beetle, that was not the reaction when it came out in 1998-99. People actually applauded that car when it was first shown, and the New Beetle should be given a great deal of credit (along with the '98 Passat) for turning VW's fortunes around in the United States at a time when a turnaround was desperately needed.In 10 years times, will this car be the one that is remembered . . . or the last generation? Only time will tell.

"but the U.S. will get the Turbo, a 2.5-liter I-5, or a 2.0-liter turbo-diesel. Volkswagen's claiming that the DSG-equipped Turbo cars will get 22/30 mpg city/ highway.Read more: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1107_2012_volkswagen_beetle_drive/index.html#ixzz1SC8V1vSv"- this makes it sound as if the TDi gets 22/30 mpg as the 2.0T gas engine is only refereed to as "the turbo". It's sad to hear that there is noticeable wind/tire noise. I don't know why VW is so intent on beating the tuners at the look-at-my-huge-rims game. Just leave some fender gap and let them sort it out, I want a quiet comfortable ride.

I won't harp too much on VW's lack of a competitive Naturally Aspirated four cylinder too much, other than to say several makers are now either close or matching the 2.0 turbo's horsepower figures with NA four cylinders. Time to get back to the drawing board on that, but otherwise, this "New" Beetle looks like a big improvement over the current one!!

Nice evolution of the model. I believe it'll have more appeal to a larger buying potential (read more males who like to drive). But... 30 mpg? Thirty? Three-zero miles per gallon hwy? Seriously?A rather husky and faster V6 Mustang gets 31. Go figure.

I'm very interested in this car, even more so than the GTI..This actually looks classy and like a baby Porsche..however, it is in no way a Beetle like the original..The original was cheap transportation with some style made for the masses and made cheap..this just retains the name and shape. The original was a hit because it accomplished what it set out to do. Regardless, the turbo or R version of this Beetle I would strongly recommend to anyone interested in a Camaro V6/Mustang V6/500 Abarth/Genesis/...Hell, I'm uber excited for a test drive myself